


Ice Cream

by KatJumpedOverTheMoon



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, philosophical, slice-of-life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 10:49:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14616822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatJumpedOverTheMoon/pseuds/KatJumpedOverTheMoon
Summary: It's a completely ordinary Saturday on the boardwalk in Beach City, but Steven still doesn't understand Garnet's future vision. Simply spilling ice cream makes Garnet reconsider if her power is good or bad. Is she actually cursed with this burden? An observatory, slice-of-life one shot.





	Ice Cream

Summer days in Beach City exist for simple moments like this. The sound of ocean waves comfort Steven and Garnet as they stroll along the boardwalk. The sky stretches above, inhabited by a stray cloud here and there, like white sheep grazing in a field of infinite blue.

 

“Garnet, is the future predestined?”

 

“No,” Garnet, always a woman of few words, replies straight to the point.

 

“Then...how do you explain your future vision?” Steven takes another slurp of ice cream. The fourteen-year-old, not quite the young boy she helped raise anymore nor the kind-hearted man she knew he would mature into, tilts his head in genuine curiosity.

 

Garnet hesitates. Steven had asked this before, but the young man’s curiosity held no bounds. To other people, her ability to “see” the future was difficult to describe. She wasn’t given the power of prophecy, of knowing an outcome certain to happen. Rather, she could tune into the myriad of possibilities that could emerge from a given instant in time.

 

Before she can answer, a flock of squawking seagulls suddenly swarms overhead. Steven, startled, drops his ice cream.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

 _Plonk_. The ice cream pools on the ground, now melting into a puddle under the strong heat of the midday sun. It’s working its way down through the crevices of the wooden boardwalk. Dripping like dairy-flavored raindrops on the ground.

 

They both stare at the puddle without words. The waves crash and foam against the shore and paint the rocks with their oceanic essence.  

 

“Aww…” Steven sighs before recovering quickly and giving Garnet an easygoing smile. “Well, it’s alright. There’s always those Cookie Cat ice cream sandwiches we keep back home.”

 

He hesitates for a moment before asking what’s on his mind, with almost childlike eagerness.

 

“Did you see that coming? Using your future vision?”

 

Garnet remains still for a moment before responding. “It was one of many possible avenues of occurrence,” she replies, simple and firm.

 

“Huh?” Steven scratches his head in confusion.

 

“Those seagulls flying here. Then you dropping the ice cream. It’s never a hundred percent certain what’s going to happen in the next instant, or the one after that, or what we’ll decide to do this afternoon.”

 

Steven nods. He doesn’t understand fully, but he’s reassured by Garnet’s calm confidence. It was ironic, in a way, how certain Garnet felt about life’s uncertainties.

 

Tuning out the casual murmur of the crowd enjoying a Saturday on the Beach City boardwalk, Garnet envisions the future insights that flood in her mind.

 

There wasn’t a proper way to describe the scenes in her mind. Most accurately, they were like reliving a memory from the past in the present, but instead they were events from the future, brimming with potential.

 

In one future, Steven decides to buy another double-scoop of vanilla and strawberry from the ice cream cart. He digs up the last of his cash from the pocket of his jeans, just three dollars and fifty cents. The vendor hands over the perfect hot weather treat to him.

 

In another future,  they’ll go over to buy a snack at the Big Donut instead. The ex-mayor Dewey will greet them with a cheery grin as Steven finally decides on a strawberry glazed donut.

 

But in yet another, much less mundane future, the Diamonds from Homeworld will flood the sky with attack ships and try to destroy Beach City again. Everyone and everything she knew and loved would be gone. They’d return to the traumatic tumult of the old days, when the Crystal Gems battled the Homeworld forces in a fierce fight to protect the Earth, their new home. Old wounds and scars of the past would reopen and be brought to light.

 

Her eyes widen. A wave of worry and fear sweep over her, envisioning _that_ particular future. No, that would be highly unlikely. But it was always possible. To Garnet, everything held potential. Both the ordinary outcomes and even the highly unlikely ones. It was all up to chance, but the fact remained that all were _possible_. Sometimes, the multiple scenarios she saw overwhelmed her, and she wished she didn’t see them. Was her future vision a blessing or actually a curse in disguise?

 

“Can we...walk around?” Steven suggests.  

 

Like coming out of a daydream, Garnet resumes her status in the present, pushing away her concerns for the time being.

 

“There’s a whale-watching happening over there!” he points toward the far end of the pier.

 

Garnet looks over fondly at Steven, who’s already rushing excitedly down towards the growing crowd at the other end.

 

People are taking out binoculars and cameras. The whales are returning to their habitat after the mating season. Their tails gleam under sun beams as they continually emerge and disappear under the ocean waves.

 

Garnet sighs. Maybe she’s overthinking things. Worrying about Steven and her friends, the Crystal Gems, didn’t accomplish much right now, when all she wants is to enjoy a Saturday with Steven.

 

“C’mon, Garnet! You’re gonna miss out!” Steven’s energetic voice breaks her train of thoughts. The puddle of ice cream is now drying up fast, forgotten by both of them.

 

Garnet joins Steven at the end of the pier. Hearing the excited chatter of Beach City people, gazing at the shimmering bodies of the majestic sea animals who are returning to their home, Garnet smiles slightly, observing Steven’s excited demeanor. He’s jumping up and down, trying to see over the heads of the crowd.

 

In the evening, they’ll rejoin their friends at the Crystal Gem headquarters by the lighthouse. Perhaps they’ll light a bonfire by the beach and talk about their day while relaxing under the stars.

 


End file.
